Ellis Peak trail at Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe / Truckee

Hike of the Month

Ellis Peak

Panorama View of Lake Tahoe from Ellis Peak

A Real Estate Newsletter for my Clients and Friends

The Ellis Peak trail is loaded with wild flowers and panoramic views. The hike is short enough to be either a morning or afternoon hike. I noticed that the mosquitoes were absent during the day but came out about 5pm when I made this an afternoon hike, so I prefer making this a morning hike. If you enjoy a morning hike, stop by Sunnyside Lodge on Lake Tahoe on the way back for lunch. They have a lovely deck overlooking Lake Tahoe with a very reasonable lunch menu.

The Ellis Peak trail starts with a steep, half-mile climb. The remainder is a pleasant hike through alternating groves of serene forest and open stretches of view-packed ridgeline. Near the end of the trail is a dirt road with a sign pointing to the left for beautiful Ellis Lake, and a sign pointing straight ahead across the dirt road to continue the trail to Ellis Peak. When we went to Ellis Lake, we retraced our steps back to where we could go straight across the dirt road toward Ellis Peak. From the intersection of the dirt road, it took about 10 minutes to get to Ellis Lake, and about 45 minutes to get to Ellis Peak.

The round trip distance for the Ellis Peak trail is 8.3 miles. The hike takes about 4 hours to 6 hours round trip.

To drive to the trailhead, take Highway 89S from Truckee to Tahoe City. Continue south on Hwy 89 from the Tahoe City “Y”, across Fanny Bridge, and then 4.2 miles to the Caspian Picnic Area. There you turn west on Blackwood Canyon Road. The blacktop road follows Blackwood creek for 2.3 miles, crosses the creek and then climbs 4.8 miles to Barker Pass. The Ellis Peak Trailhead is located on the south side of the road where the blacktop pavement ends on the summit.

Enjoy the photos that follow.